Bhubaneswar: Health Minister Naba Kishore Das Sunday warned medicine dealers of strict actions if they are found indulged in malpractices such as the sale and distribution of spurious drugs in the state.
The Health minister said that raids had been undertaken after receiving information on such malpractices. “After the investigations are done and reports of involvement of persons in such cases are received from the authorities concerned, the state government will take strict action against the persons involved,” he said.
“We will not tolerate such things in the state. After receiving vital information, the drug controller’s office swung into action and raided a drug trader in Cuttack. We saw 170 boxes of spurious Favipiravir medicines and each box had around 100 tablets. Other drugs relating to cold and other ailments were also seized on suspicion,” he said.
According to the minister, the samples have been sent to labs in Kolkata and Bhubaneswar. He said that the health department and the police department have also been asked to act in such cases and trace the malpractices.
This comes after the office of the state drug controller raided several medicine stores, wholesalers dealing with the procurement, distribution and sales of medicines in the state.
The department in the last few raids in Cuttack, Rourkela and other cities has found spurious Favipiravir and nine other drugs used in the treatment of different diseases including Covid-19.
Many of the drug traders under lens have been booked under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act which has provisions of jail as well as fine for the crimes which could directly harm people’s health.
The raids were triggered by inter-state intelligence reports from the offices of drug controllers of Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states which led to more revelations post seizure and raids on selected traders and dealers of drugs in the state.
PNN